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November 29, 2014

While some were celebrating Thanksgiving earlier this week, I couldn’t help but feel infinite gratitude for the things that make my everyday life. Each and every day, I try to remember to silently say thank you, in my heart for all I have. The good things, but also the not so good things and learn to be content with what I have here and now. A constant work in progress.

At the market, we’ve been very lucky to find an abundance of locally foraged wild mushrooms over the past few months. They remain a treat as they are pretty expensive, so we appreciated them even more. I wanted to create a simple meal that would enhance the mushrooms flavours, as they really are the stars of the show. And maybe, one day, we’ll learn to recognize mushrooms in the wild and will be able to go foraging them by ourselves. My granddad used to be a keen mushroom picker and I would love to have this skill too.

We had leftovers of the meal for the next day and served it with a fried egg, which was fantastic too. I hope you’ll enjoy this quintessentially autumnal meal, before we step into winter and more Christmassy recipes. With love and gratitude x

1.Rinse the quinoa and place it in a saucepan with double its volume in water. Bring to the boil then cover and leave to cook for about 15-20min, until all the water has been absorbed.
2.Place the almonds on a small baking tray and place in a preheated oven (180°C) for about 5-10min, until golden and fragrant. Leave to cool down then chop them.
3.Clean the mushrooms with a small brush and wash them it necessary. Chop them.
4.Heat the ghee or butter and olive oil in a frying pan or sauté pan. Add the shallots and fry on a medium heat for 2min. Add the mushrooms and cook for about 5min, until tender. Finally, add the parsley.
5.Add the cooked quinoa to the pan and mix it in the mushrooms. Dish out onto plates and sprinkle with chopped almonds and extra parsley.

November 21, 2014

Staying with the theme of breakfasts that can be had for pudding and vice-versa, I came up with this baked oatmeal recipe a few weekends ago. All I’ve wanted in the mornings recently have been warm breakfasts. When it’s dark and cold outside, this seems to be the only way to start the day. A bowl of something warm and comforting. Have you noticed that if you take time to listen to your body and tap into your intuition/inner GPS, it’s hard to go wrong? I love tuning in with the seasons and adapting the way I eat accordingly. Listening to your inner light and going with the flow.

The oatmeal calls for oats, which slowly release their energy throughout the morning, easily keeping you going until lunchtime. I also used a fruit that I had kind of forgotten about: quince. I remember that my grandparents had a big quince tree in their back garden, but I hadn’t seen or eaten quince for years. At first sight, you’re not really sure whether they are a big lemon or a misshaped apple or pear. However, when cutting into their tough flesh, they are definitely recognisable. I am not sure quinces can be eaten raw. They are most often found in jams/jellies or paste form. I like to mix them with apples and cook them in a compote, for an easy no fuss dessert, or like here, steam them and use them as the base for a delicious warming autumn breakfast.

1.Peel, core and chop the quinces. Steam them for about 20min, until tender. Add the apples and steam for another 5min. Spread across the bottom of an oven dish.
2.Preheat the oven to 180°C.
3.In a bowl, mix the oats with the salt and baking powder.
4.In another bowl, beat the eggs with the plant milk. Add to the dry ingredients and mix well. Spread over the quinces/apples.
5.Core the red apple and slice it into thin slices. Spread them over the dish and put in the oven for 30-40min until cooked and fragrant.
6.In the meantime, mix the nut butter and honey in a small bowl. Add water, 1tbsp at a time until you obtain a smooth runny sauce. When taking the dish out of the oven, drizzle the sauce over the oatmeal. Serve warm.

November 10, 2014

Discovering plant milks opened a whole new array of possibilities for me. As a child, I simply wouldn’t drink cow’s milk as this would make me feel sick. I would however tolerate other dairy products, but milk on its own was a no-no. Later, I tried soy milk, but never really liked its taste either. And then, a few years ago, I was introduced to homemade almond milk. And my universe suddenly changed. Its delicate flavour and smooth texture seemed to have been made in heaven. Since then, I’ve had the opportunity to experiment with many different plant milk variations, and even if I often buy readymade organic rice or oat milk for convenience, it is always a treat to make my own. Each type of milk has a distinctive taste, and this is particularly true of sesame milk. I’ve come up with two ways of making it: the first one uses sesame seeds and I opt for this option when wanting to make a big bottle and when I have a bit more time ahead of me and the second one, which uses tahini, for cases when I want a drink that will be ready in only a matter of minutes. The later tends to be a bit thicker and richer; you can try both and see which one you like best.

Sesame milk is rich in calcium and can be used as a substitute to dairy milk, as a drink or in recipes. It can also be sweetened by adding a date before blending, or maybe a grated vanilla pod for extra flavour. Have a great week!

1.Drain and rinse the seeds. Place them with the water in a blender and blend on high speed until the seeds break.
2.Pass through a muslin cloth to filter the seeds. Pour the milk in a bottle and keep in the fridge for up to a week.

Option 2
•2tbsp tahini
•250ml pure filtered water

1.Place the tahini in a small bowl and add a couple of tablespoons water. Stir with a spoon to start incorporate the tahini to the water.
2.Pour in a blender and add the rest of the water. Blend until smooth. Enjoy straight away or pour in a bottle and keep in the fridge for later.

November 03, 2014

Weekend meals tend to be fairly relaxed in our home. I love cooking with my other half and we sometimes spend a fair amount of time in the kitchen preparing homey comforting dishes. Foreign foods is often what we go for on Saturday or Sunday nights, and we might be inspired by dishes from China, Japan, India, Italy or Mexico, to only name a few. We might take a basic recipe and give it a few twists to adapt it to our taste or mood of the moment. Enchiladas are a no fuss favourite of ours, and I think we’ve had the combination of black beans and squash already a number of times in the past few years, but we never get tired of it.

The past two months were incredibly hot and sunny here: I was still wearing shorts last week, going for sea swims, and temperatures were averaging 28°C during day time! But with days being shorter and eating autumnal foods, my body kind of felt a bit at odds with what’s the season. November is now upon us, and as if by magic, the weather seems to have finally turned to proper autumn. Maybe it’s just time to pause and embrace it, like the calm before the storm that December usually is.

Have a lovely week and if you decide to feed your tummies with these enchiladas, I’m sure you’ll be on for a treat! x

1.Rinse the beans, place in a large saucepan, cover with plenty of water and bring to the boil. Cover, lower the heat and cook for 1 hour. Drain and set aside.
2.Preheat the oven to 200°C. Peel, seed and chop the butternut squash into small cubes. Place on a baking tray, season with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Mix well and place in the oven for 20-25min until tender. Set aside.
3.In a large sauté pan, heat 2tbsp olive oil. Add the onion and garlic and fry gently until soft. Add the spices and stir them in. Then add the tomato can, mix and leave to cook for 15-20min until reduced to a fairly thick sauce.
4.In a large bowl, mix together the beans, butternut squash, half of the sauce and a third of the cheese. Place a few spoonfuls of the mixture in the centre of a corn tortilla, roll it and place in an oven dish. Repeat. Once all the tortillas are in the dish, spread over the rest of the sauce and sprinkle with the rest of the cheese. Place in the oven (still on 200°C) for about 10min, until the cheese has melted. Serve with the avocado slices and a green salad.